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Feds: Cars must be able to talk to each other

By Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY
Published 3:31 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2016

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx speaking in Detroit at Cobo Center in January as he outlined a set of policies today designed to speed up the development, testing and deployment of self-driving cars.(Photo: Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press)

U.S. auto-safety regulators on Tuesday proposed new rules requiring automakers to adopt crash-avoidance technology that allows all new vehicles to communicate with each other in a move that would accelerate self-driving cars.

The requirement of so-called vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity — or V2V — on all consumer vehicles within about five years is viewed as central to the development of a new age of cars that can avoid accidents by wirelessly monitoring each other.

The move marks a concrete step by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration toward its goal of eliminating roadway deaths within 30 years.

To be sure, the proposed rule comes in the 11th hour of the Obama administration, rendering it susceptible to quick counteraction by the Trump administration.

The president-elect has not displayed misgivings about the prospects of autonomous cars, meaning the vehicle-to-vehicle technology could move full speed ahead, although he has pledged to abolish various government regulations.

"I obviously can’t speak for the next administration but I can say from a safety perspective this is a no-brainer," Foxx said.

NHTSA said that before the end of the Obama administration it would also issue proposed guidance on systems that allow vehicles to communicate with road infrastructure, such as stop lights, which would improve traffic flow and safety. Together, the agency believes that vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology could eliminate or greatly reduce the seriousness of up to 80% of crashes that don't involve driver impairment.

Dave Sullivan, analyst at AutoPacific, said automakers "seem to have a need" for harmonized V2V standards. But it's too early to tell whether Trump's administration will let the standards fly.

"Everything seems so up in the air in regards to regulation for future ADAS," Sullivan said, using an acronym for advanced driver assistance systems.

NHTSA said it would accept public comment for 90 days and thereafter consider altering the regulation accordingly.

Foxx said the rule could take about a year to take effect, after which it would require automakers to comply on 50% of their new vehicles within two years and 100% within four years.

"We certainly understand that there are many, many stakeholders in the automobile industry who believe this rule is essential to creating the kind of environment where all of the players are on the same page," Foxx said.

The Washington, D.C. interest group Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said it would "review" the new rule, but hinted that it may back it.

"V2V systems can provide another form of information about other vehicles or road hazards at greater distances and around corners," the Alliance said in a statement.

V2V technology uses short-range radio communication to allow vehicles to identify each other's speed, location, direction and acceleration or braking, within a radius of about 300 meters.

NHTSA pledged that the technology would not divulge any personal information regarding drivers.

The move to mandate the systems comes after more than a decade of testing and collaboration with the auto industry, which is advancing V2V technology in new self-driving car technology.

Although self-driving cars will use light-mapping systems, radar, sensors and cameras to monitor their surroundings, V2V technology is still critical because it does not require visual sightings.

Foxx had said in February 2014 that NHTSA was developing a proposal for V2V systems.

The new rule would apply only to consumer vehicles for now, but the agency said it believes the technology has tremendous potential for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses.